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Dishonour

Heather Perrin, a 61-year-old woman born into a modest background where third-level education was not an option, one who “pulled herself up by the bootstraps” to progress from legal secretary to qualified solicitor at the age of 31, and to a seat on the bench at 57, is now consigned to An Dóchas women’s prison.

Prisoners there now routinely double up in rooms designed as private singles, and sleep in “hard bunk beds with thin duvets”, in the words of one source.

A woman known for her liking for good jewellery and prestigious car marques, one for whom her public face and dignity were perceived to be particularly important, will be reduced to purchasing stock from the prison shop on a stipend of less than €2 a day.

However, one of the biggest challenges she faces in prison, perhaps, will be the known fact of her former occupation, a factor acknowledged by Judge Mary Ellen Ring.

She is the first judge to be convicted of a serious criminal act in the history of the state, not the first to engage in criminal activity, just the first to get caught.
What she did was despicable to life -long friends.
Surely on a judges wage & pension, the children would be looking at a nice inheritance regardless.

What she did was wrong but I reckon I’m not alone in feeling compassion for the woman. The money she tried to take for her kids was far, far less than the huge amounts the Quinns have removed and that we will have to pay if it isn’t recovered.
She’s a broken woman and I feel that even 6 months in jail would have been a big punishment in this case.
Its hardly as if she is going to re-offend so what is the point? To satisfy others? to stop future judges misbehaving? vengeance?

Part of my point was that there are other, more serious, offenders who did far worse than she did and got suspended sentences or much shorter terms. If equality is the issue then she should not be treated differently because she was a judge
Amazing how judgemental people can be about others and the lack of compassion to ‘broken’ offenders who are unlikely to re-offend is nil.
I have no problem with conviction however I do feel sentence was disproportionate when one considers the likes of the man that got 6 mths for a random sex assault as long as he paid victim €75,000.
It really used to be a case of judges getting a reputation as hanging judges but apparently lots more feel that vengeance is key.
Sharia law might fit will with many here!

Billy, many may take issue with your insane logic. Not me. I’m delighted that, if even for a moment, a cocker spaniel has become sentient and taken to commenting online. Who’s a good boy den? You! You are!

You definitely are mixing up your apples and oranges. She did the crime, she had better do the time.

In fact, I would go so far as to say she should do more time.

My reason: She waq in a position of privilege and given the power to punish others while being underhanded herself… that alone deserves a good proper punishment. No sympathy for the abuse of power, I say. No f*cking way!!

“61-year-old woman born into a modest background where third-level education was not an option”

That was pretty most people when she was a child. What a dishonest sentiment – entirely misleading.

The amount of people coming forward with positive character references says a lot about the so-called professional class in that age bracket. They are used to times when back-handers and who you know got you what you wanted instead of honest hard work and study.

Anyone have details of who came forward with character references? Prof. McCormack, her orthopaedic surgeon, said he gave her an infection. (Same guy who was highlighting abuse of doctors in Bahrain last year btw.) Any other professionals say what a great skin she was?